A couple of weeks ago I was invited by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit to come to Bonn and be part of a panel to talk about how we can be disruptive and loud to spread the menstruation and period poverty message to the world.
Together with Viva con Agua and Welthungerhilfe we were discussing in a very beautiful setting, what we could do together to bring the whole topic even more into the minds of people. How can we include more men in the discussion, and how can we combine our powers to tackle the issue of period poverty, not just in the global south.
Afterward, I was mesmerised by the open conversation we had, and I could feel that again, we made a step in the right direction. Every single discussion, every personal talk, every big or small panel discussion that holds space to address what is going on in the menstrual world and why everyone is part of it, gives me hope, that we are on the same path. I left the event with my heart full of sparkles.
On my way back to Berlin I got a message, that left me speechless again.
A 16-year-old girl, who was forced to stay in a little hut outside of her village in Nepal due to a tradition called "chaupadi" got raped by a young man.
Women who are menstruating in rural areas in Nepal need to leave the village due to their "impureness" while they are bleeding. As they are far away from the rest of the tribe, left on their own while bleeding, they become an easy victim for men.
So here we are: Talking about how we need to stop the whole package of discrimination regarding such a normal, human topic. While in the meantime, nearly synchronised a young girl on the other side of the world is suffering under the fact of having a menstrual cycle.
We are not there yet where we need to get. And that makes me cry more often than I would like. But we are on our way. And we are on this way together. That gives me hope. That gives me the power to move on.
